Israel, Hamas agree on four-day pause in fighting
ISRAEL and Hamas have reached an agreement to observe a four-day pause in fighting, during which at least 50 hostages, especially women and children, would be released.
This was contained in a statement by the Israeli government late on Tuesday, November 21, via its social media handle on X, stating that the release of every ten additional hostages would translate to an extra day of respite in the war.
“The Israeli government is committed to the return of all abductees home. Tonight, the government approved the outline for the first stage of achieving this goal, according to which at least 50 abductees – women and children – will be released for 4 days, during which there will be a lull in the fighting. The release of every ten additional abductees will result in an additional day of respite,” an English translation of the statement read.
The deal was reached during a mediation led by Qatar.
Although the statement by Israel did not mention the release of Palestinian prisoners being held in Israel, Hamas disclosed that the 50 Israeli prisoners would be released in exchange for 150 Palestinian hostages held in Israeli jails.
This is the first truce since the war between Israel and Gaza began on October 7, when Hamas launched a surprise attack on Southern Israel during a major Jewish holiday, killing over a thousand people
